Billy is at it again. In the first book of the series Billy
finds out he is a were-dragon,
meaning he can shape-shift from a nine-year-old boy into a green, scaly dragon.
It’s a very handy talent, especially when confronted by Bludger, who bullies
anyone ‘smaller’ than him.

One morning Billy wakes up feeling weird. He’s just found
out that his mortal enemy, a werewolf, is chasing him. Billy’s a pretty useless
‘shifter’ and worse still, the soccer trials are on and Bludger the bully is
the try-out captain.

Bertha the bulldog and Polly the parrot watch as Billy
practises shapeshifting. Polly constantly interrupts his concentration by blurting
out ‘Big Blue Bottom’ and ‘Bogie Brain.’ Then, with a ‘RRRRRIP …’ Billy’s tail shoots through the back of his underpants
and out the bedroom window.

Billy calls on his best friend Jeannie to help him as his
big sister thinks something’s very fishy. Billy and Jeannie escape from his
house incognito – dressed in vegetable costumes. Hilarious situations arise
when they get to school.

There’s a huge problem for Billy. When he most needs to
shape-shift, he goes ‘squiffy.’ He’s so filled with anxiety that his nerves get
the better of him. I really like Falk’s ideas here. There are lots of kids who
are affected by nerves. Falk doesn’t underplay this fear. He treats it as
normal and then injects the situation with humour. Billy ends up enlisting the
help of Benny (the pet shop owner and were-hamster) who gives him a crash
course in shapeshifting.

Falk is great at charging the plot with ‘what-ifs’. It works
hilariously and takes you by surprise. The twist at the end comes from left
field. I won’t spoil it for you other than saying the werewolf wasn’t after
Billy.

Nick Falk and internationally acclaimed illustrator and
artist, Tony Flowers, are a great team. The black and white illustrations add
extra dollops of visual humour and perfectly complement the written narrative.
A rollicking read for 6+.